diff --git a/DOCUMENTATION.md b/DOCUMENTATION.md
index 2d5e838d..596a5125 100644
--- a/DOCUMENTATION.md
+++ b/DOCUMENTATION.md
@@ -824,7 +824,13 @@ Default:
 
 ##### ldap_secret
 
-The password of the ldap_reader_dn. This parameter must be provided if auth type is ldap.
+The password of the ldap_reader_dn. Either this parameter or `ldap_secret_file` must be provided if auth type is ldap.
+
+Default:
+
+##### ldap_secret_file
+
+Path of the file containing the password of the ldap_reader_dn. Either this parameter or `ldap_secret` must be provided if auth type is ldap.
 
 Default:
 
@@ -869,7 +875,7 @@ Default:
 
 ##### lc_username
 
-Сonvert username to lowercase, must be true for case-insensitive auth 
+Сonvert username to lowercase, must be true for case-insensitive auth
 providers like ldap, kerberos
 
 Default: `False`
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 90259508..f6ac22f6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ FROM python:3-alpine AS builder
 # Version of Radicale (e.g. v3)
 ARG VERSION=master
 
-# Optional dependencies (e.g. bcrypt)
+# Optional dependencies (e.g. bcrypt or ldap)
 ARG DEPENDENCIES=bcrypt
 
 RUN apk add --no-cache --virtual gcc libffi-dev musl-dev \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.dev b/Dockerfile.dev
index 65e00fcd..2f6f9fc0 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.dev
+++ b/Dockerfile.dev
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 FROM python:3-alpine AS builder
 
-# Optional dependencies (e.g. bcrypt)
+# Optional dependencies (e.g. bcrypt or ldap)
 ARG DEPENDENCIES=bcrypt
 
 COPY . /app
diff --git a/config b/config
index 20e459c8..cb50ab72 100644
--- a/config
+++ b/config
@@ -68,6 +68,9 @@
 # Password of the reader DN
 #ldap_secret = ldapreader-secret
 
+# Path of the file containing password of the reader DN
+#ldap_secret_file = /run/secrets/ldap_password
+
 # If the ldap groups of the user need to be loaded
 #ldap_load_groups = True
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index c2df6f66..ff95d0a0 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 test = ["pytest>=7", "waitress", "bcrypt"]
 bcrypt = ["bcrypt"]
+ldap = ["ldap3"]
 
 [project.scripts]
 radicale = "radicale.__main__:run"
diff --git a/radicale/auth/ldap.py b/radicale/auth/ldap.py
index 56261105..a8e94794 100644
--- a/radicale/auth/ldap.py
+++ b/radicale/auth/ldap.py
@@ -16,11 +16,12 @@
 """
 Authentication backend that checks credentials with a ldap server.
 Following parameters are needed in the configuration:
-   ldap_uri       The ldap url to the server like ldap://localhost
-   ldap_base      The baseDN of the ldap server
-   ldap_reader_dn The DN of a ldap user with read access to get the user accounts
-   ldap_secret    The password of the ldap_reader_dn
-   ldap_filter    The search filter to find the user to authenticate by the username
+   ldap_uri         The ldap url to the server like ldap://localhost
+   ldap_base        The baseDN of the ldap server
+   ldap_reader_dn   The DN of a ldap user with read access to get the user accounts
+   ldap_secret      The password of the ldap_reader_dn
+   ldap_secret_file The path of the file containing the password of the ldap_reader_dn
+   ldap_filter      The search filter to find the user to authenticate by the username
    ldap_load_groups If the groups of the authenticated users need to be loaded
 Following parameters controls SSL connections:
    ldap_use_ssl   If the connection
@@ -64,6 +65,10 @@ def __init__(self, configuration: config.Configuration) -> None:
         self._ldap_load_groups = configuration.get("auth", "ldap_load_groups")
         self._ldap_secret = configuration.get("auth", "ldap_secret")
         self._ldap_filter = configuration.get("auth", "ldap_filter")
+        ldap_secret_file_path = configuration.get("auth", "ldap_secret_file")
+        if ldap_secret_file_path:
+            with open(ldap_secret_file_path, 'r') as file:
+                self._ldap_secret = file.read().rstrip('\n')
         if self._ldap_version == 3:
             self._ldap_use_ssl = configuration.get("auth", "ldap_use_ssl")
             if self._ldap_use_ssl:
diff --git a/radicale/config.py b/radicale/config.py
index 5bb24534..3e91a6fa 100644
--- a/radicale/config.py
+++ b/radicale/config.py
@@ -200,17 +200,21 @@ def json_str(value: Any) -> dict:
             "help": "URI to the ldap server",
             "type": str}),
         ("ldap_base", {
-            "value": "none",
+            "value": "",
             "help": "LDAP base DN of the ldap server",
             "type": str}),
         ("ldap_reader_dn", {
-            "value": "none",
+            "value": "",
             "help": "the DN of a ldap user with read access to get the user accounts",
             "type": str}),
         ("ldap_secret", {
-            "value": "none",
+            "value": "",
             "help": "the password of the ldap_reader_dn",
             "type": str}),
+        ("ldap_secret_file", {
+            "value": "",
+            "help": "path of the file containing the password of the ldap_reader_dn",
+            "type": str}),
         ("ldap_filter", {
             "value": "(cn={0})",
             "help": "the search filter to find the user DN to authenticate by the username",
diff --git a/setup.py.legacy b/setup.py.legacy
index 4d108ccd..d82d289e 100644
--- a/setup.py.legacy
+++ b/setup.py.legacy
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ install_requires = ["defusedxml", "passlib", "vobject>=0.9.6",
                     "pika>=1.1.0",
                     ]
 bcrypt_requires = ["bcrypt"]
+ldap_requires = ["ldap3"]
 test_requires = ["pytest>=7", "waitress", *bcrypt_requires]
 
 setup(
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ setup(
     package_data={"radicale": [*web_files, "py.typed"]},
     entry_points={"console_scripts": ["radicale = radicale.__main__:run"]},
     install_requires=install_requires,
-    extras_require={"test": test_requires, "bcrypt": bcrypt_requires},
+    extras_require={"test": test_requires, "bcrypt": bcrypt_requires, "ldap": ldap_requires},
     keywords=["calendar", "addressbook", "CalDAV", "CardDAV"],
     python_requires=">=3.8.0",
     classifiers=[